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Plans for one of the country’s longest and most
expensive motorways linking Cork and Limerick have been lodged
with An Bord Pleanála.
The €1 billion M20 project features -
- 80 kilometres of dual divided motorway
- 6km of dual carriageway
- 45km of associated national, regional and local roads
- A motorway service area at Lissard, near Rathduff
- 46 road bridges, eight river bridges and two railway bridges
- 33 structures for land or farm access, and 36 major culverts.
Land values along the proposed route and construction costs
have not been finalised - but the M3 from Clonee, west of
Dublin, to Kells, which is 20km longer and due to open in
July, will cost some €1bn.
The M20 will start at the existing Blarney junction and will
remain online with the existing N20 to Mourneabbey. The proposed
route will then veer east from the existing N20 passing east
of Mallow and Buttevant. It will rejoin the existing N20 for
about 2km at Velvetstown before again veering to the east.
It will cross the N20 just south of Ballyhea, pass west of
Charleville and continue west of the existing N20 until the
Croom bypass. Most of the bypass will be re-utilised as part
of the new development and the new scheme will terminate near
the existing junction at Attyflin, Co Limerick.
An oral hearing on the proposed route will be held this summer
and, subject to funding, construction could start before the
end of 2011. The project is being coordinated by Cork County
Council and Limerick County Council, with the support of the
National Roads Authority.
When the corridor scheme is complete, Cork and Galway will
be linked by some 200km of motorway.
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